Sen. Steve Cwodzinski Update: April 28, 2017

Week of April 23rd – 29th

Budget targets as a reflection of values

Senate and House Republicans released budget numbers today that move more than $200 million further away from Governor Dayton’s budget. Additionally, instead of using the February budget forecast, GOP leadership is using budget numbers from last year in an effort to portray their numbers as budget increases. This does not account for growth that was already projected, such as additional pupil units in education, and strikes me as deliberately dishonest math.

The Republican budget targets and tax cut spending proposals are extremely disappointing. This budget is a sure-fire way to bring the state back into decades of budget deficits. The proposed cuts to many state budgets fly in the face of Minnesota values of fairness, caring for vulnerable neighbors, and supporting Minnesota’s schools – especially in light of a $1.6 billion budget surplus.

The $300 million education bill proposal has already prompted some schools to begin laying off teachers. At a time when our state is experiencing economic prosperity – it is inexcusable to be making inadequate investments in our public schools. In addition, the Republican’s budget defies Gov. Dayton’s top priority by not including any new funding for early education and continues on their path for private school vouchers, another non-starter. The funding levels Republicans propose in the education bill will force schools to make the unenviable decision: seek to increase local levies (which translates to higher property taxes) or cut programs.

On healthcare, after giving insurance companies more than $900 million earlier this session, the Republican budget target advocates for more than $500 million in cuts to our state’s most vulnerable, once again masking the severity of this cut through fuzzy math, shifts, and gimmicks in a time of surplus. By using one-time money for ongoing programs and shifting payments out into the future, these irresponsible budget decisions will make these cuts even more expensive in the future.

Shrinking the size of government and “giving it all back” are good talking points, but the reality is that state government subsidizes a lot of services that Minnesotans love and depend on. When state government doesn’t fill that need, local property taxes get raised. Clean parks, reliable transit, and affordable higher education are all things that my constituents told me were important to them this past summer. Demand for these services is only growing, which makes it all the more disappointing. Our current majorities want to shift responsibility for these programs onto already strained localities during a time of state surplus.

The importance of an adequately-funded justice system

Judiciary budgets typically do not get a lot of attention, unless there is controversial policy included. I do not sit on the judiciary committee, but I would like to venture into a new subject matter in this week’s newsletter.

This year, the judiciary budget is getting a lot of attention, but the reason is solely focused on a lack of money appropriated. In a rare appearance by a chief justice, Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea testified against the Republican House and Senate judiciary budget bills in conference committee. She asked the members to reconsider their budget target to provide adequate funding for the state court system to provide Minnesotans with fair access to the state’s courts.

Gildea reminded committee members that the courts are a vital part of the government’s basic functions. She also testified that the judicial branch is not a mere state agency, but a vital branch of state government. She stressed that public safety is jeopardized when we do not have a fully-funded, functioning judiciary system.

The judicial branch is seeking a $51.4 million increase over its current funding levels to be used to process cases in a timely manner, upgrade cybersecurity measures, attract judges to serve with salary increases, and ensure access to justice. Governor Mark Dayton included the full amount in his budget proposal. The House and Senate bills provided only partial increases. I hope that the Governor is able to negotiate this value up, so that our justice system does not grind to a halt.

 National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

This Saturday is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Take advantage of a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs at the Eden Prairie Senior Center. Proper disposal of unused medication is important not only to prevent abuse, but to protect the environment.